Capillary oil device for machines



June 17, 1952 C, R, NELSON 2,601,210

CAPILLARY OII.. DEVICE FOR MACHINES Filed Nov. 9, 1948 kw www Patented June 17, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAPILLARY OIL DEVICE FOR MACHINES Clarence R. Nelson, Nyack, N. Y., assignor to Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 9, 1948, Serial No. 59,177

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to oiling devices for machines and the like, and more particularly to reservoir-type oiling devices having wicks which feed oil to the machine parts by capillary action.

The invention is shown applied to a sewing machine, to automatically feed oil to the bearings and other movable parts thereof; however, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to this particular application, since it has utility in connection with other machines, adapted for purposes other than sewing.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved reservoir-and-wick oiling device of the type which may be turned on or shut off at will, the said device when turned on being effective to provide .adequate lubrication and when turned off halting withdrawal of oil from the reservoir, and being so arranged that it is temporarily operative to supply a predetermined amount of oil to the machine parts to prevent damage thereto if it should be inadvertently left shut off when the machine is started and run.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved oiling device as characterized above, which is simple and economical in construction, and is reliable in operation over an extended period of use.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved oiling device according to the above, which is adaptable to lubricate a relatively large number of machine parts, yet is compact and of small size.

A still lfurther object of the invention is to provide an improved oiler as above, which may be shut off or turned on quickly and easily, and

which provides a visual indication of the on and off conditions.

In accomplishing the above objects, I provide in accordance with the invention, an oil supply and feed means comprising a reservoir carried by the machine frame and a plurality of capillary wicks having portions extending into the reservoir, in combination with actuatable mean-s connected with both the reservoir and the wick portions, operable to shift one With respect to the other and to maintain the wick portions eithern a relatively deep position in the reseroir, to be immersed in the oil thereof, or in a relatively high position out of contact with said oil, thereby to control the removal of oil from the reservoir by said wicks.

As provided by this organization, the wicks when held out of contact with the oil in the reservoir, will still retain a certain amount of residual oil; therefore, if the machine is inadvertently operated while the wicks are left out of contact with the oil, the residual oil carried 'by the wicks will be sucient to lubricate the bearings and other movable parts for a brief period of time, during which the operator will usually notice the error and correct it.

Also, by the above arrangement, the mechanism which simultaneously lifts all of the wicks out of the oil may be extremely simple, since the wicks al1 converge at the reservoir and are located closely adjacent each other.

In the specific embodiment of the invention i1- lustrated herein, the reservoir comprises a relatively shallow container having generally up right walls, the entire top of the container being open. Within the container a vertically shiftable plate or shelf is provided, to which the ends of the capillary wicks are secured by a spring Iclip.

Although such spring clip has been found to be particularly advantageous and convenient, the wicks may be `secured to the shelf by lacing them through a series of holes, or by other suitable means, and if desired any two wicks may be formed from a single continuous piece of wicking, in which event an intermediate portion of the wicking will be secured to the shelf, The shelf is carried by an upright rod or plunger, which is vertically slidable in a :bearing in the machine frame. The upper end of the plunger is shaped to be readily grasped by the fingers, thereby to enable it to be raised or lowered, to raise or lower the wicks secured to the shelf. A simple spring wire detent is provided on the machine frame, cooperable with an annular groove in the plunger whereby the latter, shelf and wicks may be yieldably held in raised positions, the wicks being thus maintained out of contact with the oil in the reservoir.

The entire organization of reservoir, wicks and plunger and shelf yactuating means is extremely simple and economical to fabricate, and has few parts of simple construction, making for relia- :bility of operation at all times.

By virtue of the small number and the arrangement of the parts and their simplicity, the device is very compact and small in size, and since it is only necessary to grasp the plunger and raise or lower it in order to shut off the oiling device or lturn it on, this operation may be very easily accomplished. Moreoven the position of the plunger (either raised or lowered) provides a convenient visual indication of the on and bfi condition of the device.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through the improved oiling device of the present invention, the device being illustrated in its operative position, and being shown mounted on a portion of the frame of a sewing machine, parts of said frame also being shown in section, and

Fig. 2 is a view somewhat like Fig. 1 but show*e ing the oiling device in inoperative r shut-off position.

As shown, the improved oiling device comprises a reservoir I0 in the form of a relatively shallow container having a bottom II and upright side walls I2. The reservoir or container Iil is secured to the overarm frame I3 of a sewing machine so as to be rigidly supported thereby, the machine having a housing i4 enclosing said frame and extending over the top thereof. The sewing machine has a rotary shaft I5 carried in bearings I6 and Il, which latter are to be supplied by oil from the reservoir I9, the bearings being connected with oil tubes I8 and I9 through which the lubricant is 'to be supplied. In addition, the machine has oil tubes 2i) and 2l leading to other bearings or relatively movable parts (not shown) which are to be lubricated.

For the purpose of feeding oil through the tubes I8, I9, 20 and 2l, capillary wicks V22, 23, 24 and 25 are provided, extending respectively through the oil tubes. The tubes 2o and 2| are shown as extending upward directly into the reservoir I0, passing throughv the bottomH thereof, the said bottom having upright bushings 2i; and 21 into which the upper portions of the oil tubes are disposed.

In accordance with the present invention, actuatable means are provided, connected with the wicks 22-25 and with the housing I 4 (and there fore the reservoir ID) for shifting the end portions of the wicks whereby said portions may be maintained in a relatively deep position in the reservoir as shown in Fig. 1, or'in a raised, relatively high position out of contact with the oil in the reservoir as shown in Fig. 2. This means comprises a movable plate or shelf ZSsecured to the lower end of a plunger or slide bar 29, the latter being slidably'carried in a bearing 3U secured tothe housing I4 of the machine. The

1- slide bar `9 extends above the bearing 30 and lreadily grasped by the hand, and raised Vor lowered.

The shelf 28 is preferably formed Somewhat like a screen, being provided with perforations 32 as shown in Fig. 2, to enable oil to pass through it, and is recessed at its edges to clear the upright bushings 26 and 27 carried by the bottom II of the reservoir. According to the invention, the end portions of the wicks 22-25 are secured to the shelf 28 to be shiftable therewith, so that when the shelf is in its lowered position as shown in Fig. 1 the end `portions of the wicks will be immersed in the oil of the reservoir and when the shelf is in its raised position as shown in Fig. 2 the wicks will be lifted out of the oil. To enable the wick portions Ato'be vquickly and securely attached to the top of the vshelf 28, the latter is provided with an elongate spring clip 33 which is adapted to clamp the wicks against the upper shelf surface.

It should be understood that the wick portions may be secured to the shelf 28 by other means than the spring clip33 shown. vFor example, the wick portions maybe passed back and forth or laced through a series of openings in the shelf,

or may be tied to the shelf by individual clips or wire clamps. Also, any two wicks may be formed from a single continuous piece of wicking, in which event an intermediate portion of the wicking would be secured to the shelf 28, the remaining portions then extending through the oil tubes to the desired bearings or other machinefparts.

' For the purpose of yieldably holding the plunger 29 and shelf 2S, together with the attached wicks in their raised positions. a simple and effective detent means is provided, comprising a wire spring 34 secured at one end to the housing I4 ofthe machine, 'the other end of the spring extending through a cut 35 in the bearing 30 so as to engage'the plunger, and the latter is provided vvith anannular groove 3S adapted to be cooperable with the spring 34. When the plunger 29 is raised to the position shown in Fig. 2, the spring 34 will engage ithe groove 36 and retain the plunger in its raised position, together with the lshelf 28 andattached wicks.

The above organization-of the present invention provides an efficient and -eiecti-ve simultaneous control of lubrication Iof a 'number of bearings or other machine parts lwhich are fed oil through `capillary wicks, since a lnuiribe'r `of such wicks may -be 'readily simultaneously linimersed in -the oil `to enable them to supply the machine parts, or lifted from the oil topr'e'vet their removing more of lthe same from '-the 'reservoir. It -will be understood that if tliemachine should be started fand run 'while the 'Wicks l"are inadvertently left in raised position, 'lout 'of joontact with the oil of the reservoir, a'certainlarnount of residual -oil in the wicks 'will be available ito the various -m'oving -partsof thelmaclii'neto prevent dama'ge th'eret'o -for an 'interval Lof time, during which the Vmachine *operator will have 'an opportunity 'to observe that the oilin'g v"system is not inoperative condition. 'Visual 'observation of such condition 'is readily had, being 1indicated by the raised or ylowered position lof \the plunger 29.

The control Vlby which the capillary wicks fare 'actuated has but very `few parts, all of vwhich are of extremely simple construction. Thus the Ydevice is economical to fabricate, `and by virtue of the few moving 'parts is extremely reliable in its operation. -In addition, vthe `device Lis adaptable to control fa yrelatively large lnumber of capillary wicks, yet is extremely compact and of vrelatively small "size, -By vthe provisionbf the plunger 2'9 extending through 'the top of the housing I4 at an accessible location, 'the-oiling device may be very easily vactuated vto yturn iton or shut it off.

Variations and modifications "may 'be made within lthe scope-of this invention yand"'portions of the improvements may be vused 'without others.

I claim:

1. In a 'sewing machine, an 'overarih frame; an oil'reservoir 'carried byth'e frame; a 'plurality of bearings on the frame; vaplurality -of 'capillary wicks, each having a'por-'tion 'engaging Aa bearing on the frame to -deliver oilthereto; "and 'means slidably carried by 'bearing means at the "top of the frame 4for supporting other'po'rtions of the wicks for immersion in the oil of `thereser voir, said means including a slide b'ar projecting above the 'frame and 'movable in said bearing means 'and having-finger grip means attli'e'o'u'ter end and at 'the inner en'd 'a 'perforated "shelf located 'over and broadside to 'the 'bottom 'of the reservoir, said shelf being provided with means to secure the other portions of the wicks thereto to project upwardly therefrom, said slide bar and shelf moving said other Wick portions between either a deep position in said reservoir in contact with the oil, or a high position in said reservoir out of Contact with the oil, and spring detent means engaging the slide bar to yieldably hold the bar in raised position.

2. rThe invention dened in claim 1 in Which 10 at least some of the Wicks have their ends in engagement with the bearings and the midportion secured to the shelf.

3. The invention defined in claim 1 in which the means to secure the Wicks to the shelf comprises a spring clip yieldably clamping the wicks to the upper surface of the shelf.

CLARENCE R. NELSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

